The presently disclosed subject matter generally concerns improved component design for generating electrical energy based on the Peltier/Seebeck effect.
Current thermoelectric materials, based on telluride semiconductors and so-called skutterudites and half-heusler alloys, are expensive materials that require specialized processing to fabricate. Such processing may include, for example, drawing boules of material from a melt, epitaxial growth, hot-pressing and spark gap sintering. In addition to the costs involved such processing limits incorporation of other desirable features within the materials.
Known references that include examples of features for thermally generating electricity include U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,336 to Strachan et al. entitled “Thermoelectric energy conversion,” U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,322 to Koyanagi et al. entitled “Thermoelectric element sheet in which thermoelectric semiconductors are mounted between films,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,005,182 to Imanishi et al. entitled “Thermoelectric conversion module and method of manufacturing the same,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,014 to Eklund et al. entitled “Thermoelectric materials based on intercalated layered metallic systems,” U.S. Pat. No. 7,351,906 to Yotsuhashi et al. entitled “Method of manufacturing crystalline film, method of manufacturing crystalline-film-layered substrate, method of manufacturing thermoelectric conversion element, and thermoelectric conversion element,” U.S. Pat. No. 7,888,583 to Lagally et al. entitled “Semiconductor nanowire thermoelectric materials and devices, and processes for producing same,” and U.S. Pat. No. 7,942,010 to Bell et al. entitled “Thermoelectric power generating systems utilizing segmented thermoelectric elements.”
In addition, examples of U. S. Published patent applications that include features for thermally generating electricity include U. S. Pub 2010/0031986 to Okamura entitled “Thermoelectric Module,” U. S. Pub 2010/0116308 to Hayashi et al. entitled “Thermoelectric conversion element, thermoelectric conversion module, method for producing thermoelectric conversion element,” U. S. Pub 2010/0132755 to Uchida et al. entitled “Thermoelectric Conversion Material, Method for Producing the Same, Thermoelectric Conversion Device and Method of Improving Strength of Thermoelectric Conversion Material,” U. S. Pub 2011/0016888 to Haas et al. entitled “Thermoelectric Module,” and U. S. Pub 2011/0088737 to Nakamura et al. entitled “Thermoelectric conversion module and method for manufacturing thermoelectric conversion module.”
While various aspects and alternative features are known in the field of thermoelectric electrical energy generation and related methods for manufacture, no one design has emerged that generally addresses all of the issues as discussed herein. The disclosures of all the foregoing United States patents and published patent applications are hereby fully incorporated into this application for all purposes by virtue of present reference thereto.